We hear a lot about original Sin. Some believe it some do
not and that is not just among Lay people, that same vein runs in
theological circles.It all begins with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
It teaches us the Gravity of sin. There is no such thing as a harmless sin. Adam
and Eve were presented with the same choice we face today although in an
entirely different state than they were. Adam and Eve were given to two trees;
One, the tree of Life the other, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
They were told not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for on
that day you will surely die. Deceived into believing it was good to make one
wize they ate of it and in that instant death entered in. God said; "behold
the man has become like one of US: Knowing both good and evil and unless he
stretch out his hand to the tree of life, and live forever." Later we see as the
level of sin increased, lives became shorter, until finally God Fixed the
Maximum lifespan at 120 years. Think about it! If a man can be corrupt in lets
say 100 years. Imagine how corrupt he could become in 600 years! That is not the
all of it. Now imagine how many others are corrupted by him. Adam and Eve could
have easily reached for the Tree of Life. Sin simply put is a very grave matter,
as it is disobedience to the commands of God. As in the Garden of Eden man was
then faced with a choice and the choice remains the same. Choose the tree of the
knowledge of Good and Evil or Choose the Tree of Life.

Baptism and the
rite associated with it has usually been done when most were infants. Its not
making a chice for the child, it is a spiritual vacciination removing the horror
of original sin. That has nothing to do with choosing a religion for a child it
has more to do with recognizing the debilitating effects sin can have on a
child.

In the River Jordan Jesus received Baptism, on the Cross his Blood
Redeemed us. He paid the price so man could reach for the tree of life.

The Bountiful Blessings of Baptism: A Meditation on the Baptism of
the Lord.

The feast of the Baptism of the Lord is
a moment to reflect not only on the Lord's baptism, but also on our own. For in
an extended sense, when Christ is baptized, so are we, for we are members of his
body. As Christ enters the water, he makes holy the water that will baptize us.
He enters the water and we follow. And in these waters he acquires gifts to give
us, as we shall see below.

Let's examine this text in three
stages:

1. The Fraternity of Baptism The
text says Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
John tried to prevent him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and yet
you are coming to me?

John is surely puzzled about Jesus
requesting baptism. And likely so are we. Why? John's baptism of repentance
presumes the presence of sin. But the scriptures are clear, Jesus had no
sin.1.For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without
sin (Heb 4:15 ).2.You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him
there is no sin (1 John 3:5 ).

So why does Jesus ask for baptism? He
will answer this in a moment.

But first let's consider this dramatic fact:
Jesus identifies with sinners, even if he never sinned. As he comes to the
riverside he has no ego concerns. He is not embarrassed or ashamed that some
might think him a sinner even though he was not. It is a remarkable humiliation
he accepts to be found in the company of sinners like us, and even to be seen as
one of us. He freely enters the waters and, to any outsider who knew him not, he
would simply be numbered among the sinners, which he was
not.

Consider how amazing this is. The Scripture
says He is not ashamed to call us his Brethren (Heb 2:11). It also says
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21).

Jesus ate with sinners to the scandal of
many of the religious leaders: -This man welcomes sinners and eats with them!
(Lk 15:2). Jesus was known as a friend of sinners, had pity on the woman
caught in adultery, allowed a sinful woman to touch him and anoint his feet. He
cast out demons and fought for sinners. He suffered and died for sinners in the
way reserved for the worst criminals. He was crucified between two thieves and
He was assigned a grave among the wicked (Is 53).

Praise God, Jesus is not ashamed to be found
in our presence and to share a brotherhood with us. There is a great shedding of
his glory in doing this. Again, Scripture says, [Jesus], being in very nature
God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made
himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human
likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself (Phil
1:3)

2. The Fulfillment of Baptism The
text says: Jesus said to [John] in reply, Allow it now, for thus it is
fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he allowed
him.

The Fathers of the Church are of
varying opinions as exactly what Christ means by fulfilling all
righteousness.1.Chromatius links the righteousness to all the sacraments and
the salvation they confer: This is true righteousness, that the Lord and Master
should fulfill in himself every sacrament of our salvation. Therefore the Lord
did not want to be baptized for his own sake but for ours (tractate on Matthew
13.2)2.Chrysostom links it to the end and fulfillment of the Old Covenant:
He is in effect saying, Since then we have performed all the rest of the
commandments, this Baptism alone remains. I have come to do away with the curse
that is appointed for the transgression of the Law. So I must therefore fulfill
it all and, having delivered you from its condemnation, bringing it to an end.
(Homily on Matt 12.1)3.Theodore of Mopsuestia sees Christ to mean that he is
perfecting John's Baptism which was only a symbol of the true Baptism. The
Baptism of John was perfect according to the precept of Law, but it was
imperfect in that it did not supply remission of sin but merely made people fit
of receiving the perfect one.And Jesus makes this clear saying, For thus it is
fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. (Fragment
13).

From another perspective, the word
righteousness refers, biblically, to God's fidelity to his promises. Thus, is
this sense, Jesus would mean that his baptism would be the sign of the
fulfillment of God's righteous promise of salvation. God had promised this and
God is faithful to his promises. Jesus baptism indicates this.
How?

St. Maximus of Turin speaks of the Old
Testament prefigurement of baptism at the Red sea and then shows how Christ
fulfills it:

I understand the mystery as this. The
column of fire went before the sons of Israel through the Red Sea so that they
could follow on their brave journey; the column went first through the waters to
prepare a path for those who followed But Christ the Lord does all these
things: in the column of fire He went through the sea before the sons of Israel;
so now in the column of his body he goes through baptism before the Christian
people.At the time of the Exodus the column made a pathway through the waters;
now it strengthens the footsteps of faith in the bath of baptism. (de sancta
Epiphania 1.3)

So what God promised in the in the Old
Testament by way of prefigurement he now fulfils in Christ. They were delivered
from the slavery of Egypt as the column led them through the waters. But more
wonderfully, we are delivered from the slavery to sin as the column of Christ's
body leads us through the waters of baptism. God's righteousness is his fidelity
to his promises. Hence Jesus says, in his baptism and all it signifies (his
death and resurrection) he has come to fulfill all righteous and he thus
fulfills the promises made by God at the Red Sea and throughout the Old
Testament.

3. The Four Gifts of Baptism - The
Text says, After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and
behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of
God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came
from the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well
pleased.

Eph 5:30 says we are members of Christ's
body. Thus when Jesus goes into the water we go with him. And in going there he
acquires four gifts on our behalf as this text sets them forth. Lets look at the
four gifts he acquires on our behalf:1.Access - the heavens are opened
. The heavens and paradise had been closed to us after Original Sin. But
now, at Jesus baptism, the text says the heavens are opened. Jesus
acquires this gift for us. So, at our baptism, the heavens open for us and we
have access to the Father and to the heavenly places. Scripture says: Therefore,
since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we
stand, (Romans 5:1) It also says, For through Jesus we have access in one Spirit
to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are
fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God (Eph 2:17).
Hence the heavens are opened also at our own Baptism and we have access to the
Father.2.Anointing - the Spirit of God descends on him like a dove Here
too, Jesus acquires the Gift of the Holy Spirit for us. In Baptism we are not
just washed of sins, but we also become temples of the Holy Spirit. After
baptism there is the anointing with chrism which signifies the presence of the
Holy Spirit. For adults this is Confirmation. But even for infants, there is an
anointing at baptism to recognize that the Spirit of God dwells in the baptized
as in a temple. Scripture says, Do you not know that you are God's temple and
that God's Spirit dwells in you? (1 Cor 3:16)3.Acknowledgment
this is my beloved Son. Jesus receives this acknowledgment from his Father
for the faith of those who heard, but also to acquire this gift for us. In our
own Baptism we become the children of God. Since we become members of Christ's
body, we now have the status of sons of God. On the day of your Baptism the
heavenly Father acknowledged you as his own dear Child. Scripture says:
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were
baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ (Gal
3:26)4.Approval I am well pleased . Jesus had always pleased his
Father. But now he acquires this gift for you as well. Our own Baptism gives us
sanctifying grace. Sanctifying grace is the grace to be holy and pleasing to
God. Scripture says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he
chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in
his sight. (Eph 1:1-3)

Thus, at his Baptism, Christ acquired these
gifts for us so that our own Baptism we could receive them. Consider well the
glorious gift of your Baptism. Perhaps you know the exact day. It should
be a day as highly celebrated as your birthday. Christ is baptized for our
sakes, not his own. All these gifts had always been his. Now, in his baptism he
fulfills God's righteousness by going into the water to get them for you. It's
alright to say, Hallelujah!

The Lord's last words to his disciples on this earth
were: "Go, make disciples of all peoples, and baptize them in the name of the
Father, of the Son, of the Holy Spirit" (cf. Mt 28:19).

Make disciples and baptize.
Why isn't it sufficient for discipleship to know the teachings of Jesus, to know
the Christian values? Why is it necessary to be baptized? This is the theme of
our reflection, in order to understand the reality, the profundity of the
sacrament of Baptism.

A first door is opened if we
read attentively these words of the Lord. The choice of the expression "in the
name of the Father" in the Greek text is very important: the Lord says "eis" and
not "en," and so not "in the name" of the Trinity like we say that a
vice-prefect speaks "in the name" of the prefect, an ambassador speaks "in the
name" of the government. No. He says "eis to onoma," meaning an immersion into
the name of the Trinity, a being inserted into the name of the Trinity, an
interpenetration of the being of God and our being, a being immersed in God the
Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, just as in marriage, for example, two
persons become one flesh, become one single new reality, with a single new
name.

The Lord helped us to
understand this reality even better in his conversation with the Sadducees
concerning the resurrection. Of the canon of the Old Testament, the Sadducees
recognized only the five books of Moses, and the resurrection does not appear in
these, so they denied it. Precisely on the basis of these five books, the Lord
demonstrates the reality of the resurrection and says: Do you not know that God
calls himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? (cf. Mt
22:31-32).

Thus, God takes these three
and precisely in his name they become "the" name of God. In order to understand
who this God is, one must see these persons who have become the name of God, a
name of God, are immersed in God. And thus we see that the one who stands in the
name of God, is immersed in God, is alive, because God says the Lord is not
a God of the dead, but of the living, and if he is God of these, he is God of
the living. The living are living because they stand in the memory, in the life
of God.

And this is precisely what
happens in our being baptized: we become inserted into the name of God, so that
we belong to this name and his name becomes our name and we too are able, with
our testimony like the three of the Old Testament to be witnesses of God, a
sign of who this God is, name of this God.

Therefore, being baptized
means being united with God. In a single new existence we belong to God, we are
immersed in God himself.

Thinking of this, we can
immediately see a few consequences.

The first is that God is no
longer very distant from us, he is not a reality to be discussed whether he
exists or not but we are in God and God is in us. The priority, the centrality
of God in our lives is a primary consequence of Baptism. To the question: "Does
God exist?" the answer is: "He exists and he is with us; this closeness to God
matters in our lives, this being in God himself, who is not a distant star, but
is the environment of my life." This would be the first consequence, and
therefore would tell us that we ourselves must take into account this presence
of God, really live in his presence.

A second consequence of what I
have said is that we do not make ourselves Christians. Becoming Christian is not
something that follows from a decision of mine: "Now I am making myself
Christian." Of course, my decision is also necessary, but above all it is an
action of God with me: it is not I who make myself Christian, I am taken up by
God, taken in hand by God and in this way, saying "yes" to this action of God, I
become Christian.

Becoming Christian is, in a
certain sense, "passive": I do not make myself Christian, but God makes me a man
of his, God takes me in hand and realizes my life in a new dimension. Just as I
do not make myself live, but life is given to me; I was born not because I made
myself man, but I was born because being human was given to me. So also being
Christian is given to me, it is a "passive" for me that becomes an "active" in
our, in my life. And this fact of the "passive," of not making oneself Christian
but of being made Christian by God, already somewhat implies the mystery of the
cross: it is only by dying to my egoism, departing from myself, that I can be
Christian.

A third element that is
immediately opened in this perspective is that, naturally, being immersed in God
I am united with all others, I am united with my brothers and sisters, because
all the others are in God and if I am drawn out of my isolation, if I am
immersed in God, I am immersed in communion with others.

Being baptized is never a
solitary act of "me," but is always necessarily a being united with all the
others, a being in unity and solidarity with the whole body of Christ, with the
whole community of his brothers and sisters. This fact that Baptism inserts me
into community breaks my isolation. We must remain aware of this in our being
Christian.

And finally we return to the
statement of Christ to the Sadducees: "God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob" (cf. Mt 22:32), and therefore they are not dead; if they are of God, they
are alive. This means that with Baptism, with immersion in the name of God, we
too are already immersed in immortal life, we are alive
forever.

In other words, Baptism is a
first stage of the resurrection: immersed in God, we are already immersed in the
indestructible life, the resurrection begins. Just as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
being "name of God," are alive, so also we, inserted into the name of God, are
alive in the immortal life. Baptism is the first step of the resurrection, the
entry into the indestructible life of God.

Thus in a first stage, with
the baptismal formula of Saint Matthew, with the last words of Christ, we have
already seen a bit of the essential of Baptism.

Now let us look at the
sacramental rite, in order to understand even more precisely what Baptism
is.

This rite, like the rite of
almost all the sacraments, is composed of two elements: matter water and
words.

This is very important.
Christianity is not something purely spiritual, something solely subjective, of
sentiment, will, and ideas, but is a cosmic reality. God is the Creator of all
matter, matter enters into Christianity, and only in this grand context of
matter and spirit together are we Christian. It is therefore very important that
matter be part of our faith, that the body be part of our faith. The faith is
not purely spiritual, but in this way God inserts us into the whole reality of
the cosmos and transforms the cosmos, draws it to himself.

And with this material element
water enters not only a fundamental element of the cosmos, a fundamental
material created by God, but also all of the symbolism of the religions, because
in all of the religions water has something to say. The journey of the
religions, this search for God in different ways which can be mistaken, but
still a search for God is incorporated into the sacrament. The other
religions, with their journey toward God, are present, are incorporated, and
this accomplishes the synthesis of the world. The whole search for God that is
expressed in the symbols of the religions, and above all naturally the
symbolism of the Old Testament, which thus, with all of its experiences of
salvation and of God's goodness, becomes present. We will return to this point.

The other element is the word,
and this word presents itself in three elements: renunciations, promises,
invocations.

It is therefore important that
these words not be only words, but be a way of life. In these are realized a
decision, in these words is present our whole baptismal journey, both
pre-baptismal and post-baptismal. Therefore, with these words, and also with the
symbols, Baptism extends itself to our whole life.

This reality of the promises,
of the renunciations, of the invocations is a reality that lasts our whole
lives, because we are always on the baptismal journey, on the catechumenal
journey, through these words and the realization of these words. The sacrament
of Baptism is not an act of an hour, but is a reality of our whole life, it is a
journey of our whole life. In reality, behind this is also the doctrine of the
two ways, which was fundamental in early Christianity: a way to which we say
"no" and a way to which we say "yes."

Let's begin with the first
part, the renunciations. There are three, and I will take the second one first:
"Do you renounce the seduction of evil so as not to allow yourself to be
dominated by sin?"

What are these seductions of
evil? In the ancient Church, and for centuries afterward, there was this
expression: "Do you renounce the pomp of the devil?" and today we know what was
meant by this expression "pomp of the devil." The pomp of the devil was above
all the grand bloody spectacles in which cruelty becomes entertainment, in which
killing men becomes a spectacular thing: spectacle, the life and death of a man.
These bloody spectacles, this enjoyment of evil is the "pomp of the devil,"
where it appears with apparent beauty and, in reality, appears with all its
cruelty.

But beyond this immediate
meaning of the term "pomp of the devil," there was an intention to speak of a
type of culture, of a way of life in which what counts is not the truth but the
appearance, what is sought is not the truth but the effect, the sensation, and
under the pretext of truth, in reality, men are destroyed, the intention is to
destroy and create only oneself as victor.

Therefore, this renunciation
was very real, it was the renunciation of a type of culture that is an
anti-culture, against Christ and against God. One was deciding against a culture
that, in the Gospel of Saint John, is called "kosmos houtos," "this world." With
"this world," naturally, John and Jesus are not speaking of God's creation, of
man as such, but they are speaking of a certain creature that is dominant and
imposes itself as if it were this world, and as if this were the way of living
that is imposed.

I will now leave it to each
one of you to reflect on this "pomp of the devil," on this culture to which we
say "no." Being baptized means precisely a substantial emancipation, a
liberation from this culture. Today as well we know a type of culture in which
the truth does count. Even if there is the apparent desire to make all truth
appear, the only thing that counts is the sensation and the spirit of calumny
and destruction. A culture that does not seek the good, the moralism of which is
in reality a mask to confuse, to create confusion and destruction. Against this
culture, in which lying presents itself in the guise of truth and of
information, against this culture that seeks only material prosperity and denies
God, we say "no." We also know well from many Psalms this contrast of a culture
in which one seems incapable of being touched by all the evils of the world, one
places oneself above all, above God, while in reality it is a culture of evil, a
dominion of evil.

And thus the decision of
Baptism, this part of the catechumenal journey that lasts our whole lives, is
precisely this "no," spoken and realized anew each day, including with the
sacrifices that come from opposing the culture that is dominant in many parts,
even if it were imposed as if it were the world, this world: it is not true. And
there are also many who really desire the truth.

So we move on to the first
renunciation: "Do you renounce sin in order to live in the freedom of the
children of God?"

Today freedom and Christian
life, the observance of the commandments of God, move in opposite
directions. Being Christian is thought to be a sort of slavery; freedom is
emancipation from the Christian faith, emancipation in the final analysis
from God. The word 'sin' appears to many almost ridiculous, because they say:
"How? We cannot offend God! God is so great, what does it matter to God if I
make a little mistake? We cannot offend God, his interest is too great to be
offended by us."

It seems true, but it is not
true. God has made himself vulnerable. In Christ crucified, we see that God has
made himself vulnerable, has made himself vulnerable to the point of death. God
cares about us because he loves us, and the love of God is vulnerability, the
love of God is caring about man, the love of God means that our main concern
must be that of not wounding, not destroying his love, not doing anything
against his love because otherwise we live even against ourselves and against
our own freedom. And in reality, this apparent freedom in emancipation from God
immediately becomes slavery to the many dictatorships of time, which must be
followed in order to maintained as being up to the challenge of the
time.

And finally: "Do you renounce
Satan?" This tells us that there is a "yes" to God and a "no" to the power of
the evil one who coordinates all of these activities and wants to make himself
the god of this world, as Saint John again tells us. But he is not God, he is
only the adversary, and we must not subject ourselves to his power. We say "no"
because we say "yes," a fundamental "yes," the "yes" of love and of
truth.

These three renunciations, in
the rite of Baptism in antiquity, were accompanied by three immersions:
immersion in water as a symbol of death, of a "no" that really is the death of
one type of life and resurrection to another life. We will return to
this.

Then, the confession in three
questions: "Do you believe in God the Father almighty, creator, in Christ, and
finally, in the Holy Spirit and the Church?"

This formula, these three
parts, were developed on the basis of the Lord's words: "Baptize in the name of
the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." These words are made concrete
and are deepened: what Father means, what Son means the whole faith in Christ,
the whole reality of God made man and what it means to believe in being
baptized into the Holy Spirit, meaning the whole action of God in history, in
the Church, in the communion of the saints.

Thus the positive formula of
Baptism is also a dialogue: it is not simply a formula. Above all the confession
of the faith is not only something to understand, something intellectual,
something to memorize of course, it is also this but also touches the
intellect, it touches our living, above all. And to me this seems very
important. It is not something intellectual, a pure formula. It is a dialogue of
God with us, an action of God with us, and a response of ours, it is a journey.
The truth of Christ can be understood only if one has understood his way. Only
if we accept Christ as way do we really begin to be on the way of Christ and can
also understand the truth of Christ. The truth, if not lived, does not open
itself; only the truth that is lived, the truth that is accepted as way of
living, as journey, also opens itself as truth in all of its richness and
profundity.

Therefore, this formula is a
way, it is an expression of our conversion, of an action of God. And we really
want to be aware of this in our whole life as well: that we are in communion on
the journey with God, with Christ. And thus we are in communion with the truth:
by living the truth, the truth becomes life, and by living this life we also
find the truth.

Now we move to the material
element: water.

It is very important to see
two meanings of water. On the one hand, water reminds us of the sea, above all
the Red Sea, of death in the Red Sea. In the sea is represented the power of
death, the need to die in order to come to new life. To me this seems very
important. Baptism is not only a ceremony, a ritual introduced some time ago,
nor is it only a washing, a cosmetic operation. It is much more than a washing:
it is death and life, it is the death of a certain existence and rebirth,
resurrection to new life.

This is the profundity of
being Christian: not only is it something that is added, but it is a new birth.
After crossing the Red Sea, we are new. Thus the sea, in all of the experiences
of the Old Testament, has become for Christians a symbol of the cross. Because
only through death, a radical rebirth in which one dies to a certain type if
life, can rebirth be realized and can there really be new
life.

This is part of the symbolism
of water: it symbolizes above all in the immersions of antiquity the Red
Sea, death, the cross. Only through the cross does one come to new life, and
this is realized every day. Without this ever-renewed death, we cannot renew the
true vitality of the new life of Christ.

But the other symbol is that
of the font. Water is the origin of all life; in addition to the symbolism of
death, it also has the symbolism of new life. Every life comes in part from
water, from the water that comes from Christ as the true new life that
accompanies us into eternity.

In the end there remains the
question just a quick word here of the Baptism of children. It is right to
do this, or is it rather necessary to to make the catechumenal journey first in
order to arrive at a truly realized Baptism?

And the other question that is
always raised is: "But can we impose on a child what religion he wants to live
or not? Shouldn't we leave that decision to the child?"

These questions show that we
no longer see in the Christian faith the new life, the true life, but we see one
choice among others, even a burden that should not be imposed without the assent
of the subject.

The reality is different. Life
itself is given to us without our being able to choose whether we want to live
or not. No one is asked: "do you want to be born or not?" Life itself is
necessarily given to us without previous consent, it is given to us in this way
and we cannot decide beforehand "yes or no, I want to live or
not."

And in reality, the true
question is: "Is it right to give life in this way without having received the
consensus: do you want to live or not? Can one really anticipate life, give life
without the subject having the possibility of deciding?" I would say: it is
possible and it is right only if, together with life, we can also give the
guarantee that life, with all the problems of the world, is good, that it is
good to live, that there is a gurantee that this life is good, is protected by
God and is a true gift.

Only the anticipation of
meaning justifies the anticipation of life. And thus Baptism as guarantee of the
goodness of God, as anticipation of meaning, of the "yes" of God that protects
this life, also justifies the anticipation of life.

Therefore, the Baptism of
children is not contrary to freedom. It is really necessary to give this in
order to justify as well the gift highly debatable of life. Only the life
that is in the hands of God, in the hands of Christ, immersed in the name of the
triune God, is certainly a gift that can be given without
scruples.

And so we are grateful to God
who has given us this gift, who has given us himself. And our challenge is to
live this gift, really to live, in a post-baptismal journey, both the
renunciations and the "yes," and to live always in the great "yes" of God, and
thus to live well.